Fine
by lollyg17
Summary: Following the events of The Winter Soldier, Steve cannot help thinking about Bucky all the time. As he becomes paranoid with thoughts about the man who used to be his friend, he begins to wonder if he will ever find peace in his life once and for all. One-Shot


**A/N: Hey guys, this is a little story I thought of that was inspired by the new Captain America movie. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to leave any questions and comments that you may have. Thanks!**

Fine

Ever since waking up on the beach, his head pounding and his chest tight from expelling the water from his lungs, Steve Rogers couldn't take his mind off of the Winter Soldier who he had once called his best friend. It was strange seeing him after thinking he was dead for so long; strange that the man who took care of him when he was depressed was trying to kill him. And even more strange that the silly grin that was always on his face had faded into a cold frown. But Steve shouldn't have been surprised; everything in this new time period was strange to him.

They called Bucky a murderer; SHIELD was hunting him down. No matter how much pleading the Captain did, it was no use. A team of specialists were sent in to hunt down the Soldier, but they should have known what would happen. Barnes had a reputation; a reputation that he had held for fifty years: he was the world's greatest secret, and he was going to keep it that way. SHIELD never found him.

Perhaps that moment on the beach was when Steve truly went crazy, for he had gotten an idea in his thick skull that he was going to find Bucky and bring him back. Sam went with him. But when the Winter Soldier did not want to be found, he wasn't. After seven long months of looking for him, Steve and Sam got a call from Nick Fury, calling the Avengers in. They were to investigate a series of undercover bases in Russia without being caught. That was the first time it happened.

"_Stark, I'm in. Have you dismantled the alarms?" The Captain was almost in the main weapons room and he didn't want to be bombarded with whatever was inside._

_ "Give me a second," Tony said over the mic. Steve readied himself, clutching the door frame with his shield on his back. "Three, two, off!" The Captain pulled as hard as he could, digging his feet into the ground and yanking. A drop of sweat dripped to the ground then finally the large metal door was open, revealing a cold empty room._

_ "It's empty." Steve sighed, though he wasn't sure if it was out of disappointment or relief._

_ He could hear Stark's voice crack over the mic. "Are you kidding me? We just did all of this for nothing?"_

_ "Shut up, Stark, there could be people hiding." Natasha's voice appeared in their ears._

_ "No," Steve said, "There's nowhere they could hide. The room is completely bare." The star-spangled man took a step forward to do further inspecting._

_ BEEP! BEEP!_

_ The Captain jumped as the alarms rang from nowhere and the door slid shut. "Get out of there, Cap!" He could hear Hawkeye yell._

_ "I can't!" Steve tried not to panic and grabbed the edge of the doorframe, "It's locked!"_

_ "Just hang in there, CAP, I'll see if I can disengage the locks." Tony tried to comfort him._

_ Steve nodded, though he knew it was useless; they couldn't see him. He looked around the room for some sort of escape, but saw nothing. The alarms were still blaring when Steve caught a whiff of something that made him cough, looking up to see a thick cloud of gas pouring out of a fist-sized vent in the ceiling. "Guys, there's some kind of gas filling the chamber. Do you copy?" The super soldier asked._

_ "Can you stand it much longer?" Natasha's voice was beginning to sound frantic._

_ "I'm not sure," Steve coughed, "Stark, any progress?" The Captain's vision was beginning to grow fuzzy, but he put all of his effort into pulling on the ever-still metal door._

_ "Uh, guys. I'm detecting a person heading towards Steve. Natasha, is that you?" Stark wondered._

_ "Shit," the spy cursed, "Steve get away from that door."_

_ The Captain complied. "Who is it?"_

_ "No idea," she muttered, "but something tells me they aren't one of us. Damn it, Tony, open the door!"_

_ "I'm trying, but this type of code isn't something I'm used to!"_

_ Steve's breaths were getting more frequent as he slouched to the ground, taking his shield off his back and sticking it on his left arm, as if he were getting ready to go to battle. The arguing in his earpiece was beginning to muddle together, and Steve couldn't make out who was who. He thought Clint had joined the argument. _

_ Then all of a sudden, as if a tornado had hit, the metal door flew back against the wall in an explosion of fire and destruction. The fog thinned just enough for Steve to make out a dark figure before it disappeared._

_ "Steve? Steve!" A moment later Clint rushed through the door, "I've got him." He wrapped his arm around the larger man and helped him up._

_ "What was that?" The Black Widow asked over the mic, her voice back to its steeled self._

_ "Not sure," Tony replied. "Clint?"_

_ The two exited the base, Steve gasping for the fresh air. "It wasn't me."_

_ "I saw someone." The Captain sputtered, both from confusion and his previous lack of air. It wasn't – no, it couldn't be._

_ "You're imagining things, Cap." Natasha came up to the pair to help Hawkeye. "Let's go."_

The second time it happened, Steve was alone. He and Sam were supposed to be on their way to the SHEILD headquarters for a new assignment, but Sam had gotten held up at the bank and Steve waited in the car for his friend to return. As he waited, he noticed a man in dark sunglasses get out of a car directly behind him.

He was wearing suit, much like a lawyer would wear, and he was talking on the phone to someone unknown to Steve. His left hand was in his pocket. Steve turned his head to look the other way, not wanting to look as if he were staring at the man and not a second later a startling shot went off. The blonde man jumped in his seat and whirled back around to see the man in the suit lying dead on the pavement, covered in blood. Steve hopped out of the car in a panic and ran over to the man, who had taken his hand out of his pocket. In it was a gun.

On another mission Steve had been miraculously saved once again by a shot coming out of nowhere, and yet again while walking down the street. Steve was beginning to feel paranoid, and the rest of the Avengers clearly thought he was going insane. Even Sam, who had been there when Steve faced the Winter Soldier in battle, was beginning to think he had lost it. Steve was starting to think so as well. As the Captain walked down the street, he would occasionally feel eyes on him and look up to no avail; no one stood before him. Finally it happened.

It was cold outside. The snow was falling and making the ground difficult to walk on, Steve almost losing his footing several times. He was on his way to a nearby HYDRA base that had just been uncovered by SHEILD; Tony was flying above the rest of the team, checking for any signs of threat. Behind him, Clint was walking with Natasha and Bruce, and next to Steve was Sam, who was complaining about not being able to fly.

"Hey guys, you might want to see this." Tony's voice came from the earpiece. Picking up the pace, the group hurriedly followed the metal man until they came across a large clearing.

"Holy shit." Sam muttered as the rest of the team stood in silenced shock. The remains of a once-standing building were scattered across the ground, blackened and burnt. The entire surrounding area smelled of burning flesh and wood, and smoke was spouting from the remains of the fire that had no doubt been caused by some sort of explosion only moments earlier.

"Split up; look for signs of life." The Captain ordered. The team obeyed command and Steve parted from the rest of the group, heading towards the charred building that no longer had a roof. He stepped over several severed limbs as he entered and grimaced as the smell worsened. He stopped mid-way through the building as a figure blocked his way, his face covered in soot but still recognizable.

He was beautiful, with the snowflakes falling in his dark, wild hair and giving him the appearance of a harmless creature. His metal arm seemed to glisten against the white snow on the ground, making the red star stand out even more. He truly was in his element, for this must be why he was given the name Winter Soldier.

His gaze was cold and calculating as he looked at Steve, the former playfulness gone from his eyes. His mouth was the same as his stare: hard, with his lips pressed together in a thin line that showed his serious nature. Gone was the best friend who liked to tease Steve and make him ride the Ferris Wheel until he puked; gone was the man who spent all of his time thinking about girls and trying to set Steve up with yet another woman who rejected him. Yet, he was here.

"Bucky," Steve whispered hoarsely. The Winter Soldier turned around so that he was no longer facing his old friend; Steve didn't budge.

Captain America watched as his best friend walked away from him, causing yet another ache in his chest. Before the Soldier was completely out of sight he stopped, turning his head towards Steve, and gave a tiny nod of acceptance. Then he was gone, but Steve did not budge.

"Cap?" The blonde man heard Stark call from behind him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm fine." And for the first time in a long time, he meant it.


End file.
